Can't suspend boot camp VM

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by beaumoj, Nov 26, 2008.

  1. beaumoj

    beaumoj Bit poster

    Messages:
    3
    I've just upgraded from the original PD4 build (I forget the number) to 3540. Generally, it seems a lot better but one piece of functionality has been removed. Before I upgraded to 3540 (but not on PD3) I was able to suspend my boot camp VM (Vista) - really really useful to me. Now it seems this functionality has been removed on 3540. Can anyone else suspend a boot camp VM? Is anyone from Parallels able to advise whether this functionality will be restored on a future upgrade?
    Thanks.
     
  2. pythonzz

    pythonzz Parallels Team

    Messages:
    47
    The ability to suspend a Boot Camp virtual machine was removed in build 3540 to prevent improper behaviour
     
  3. sumguy

    sumguy Bit poster

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    1
    The one and only reason I switched from VMWare Fusion was because Parallels allowed me to suspend my Boot Camp virtual machine! So I'm extremely disappointed to find this functionality is removed! Is there absolutely no way to bring it back?

    I need to use Boot Camp for some 3D programs I use, because Parallels doesn't have the performance for that. But I also want to use Parallels too, to make things more convenient when I just need to do some minor operation in Windows. Almost all of that convenience is now wiped out, if I have to wait for Windows to boot and shut down, every time I want to do some small thing in Windows.

    Leaving Windows & Parallels running all the time is not an option for me, because it uses way too many resources, and I don't use it that often. Likewise, having to manage a duplicate install of Windows in a non-Boot Camp virtual machine is not a satisfactory option. In other words, there's not that much incentive anymore for me to use Parallels instead of just using Boot Camp directly. Again, for me, the ability of Parallels to suspend the Boot Camp virtual machine was its number one feature. I sincerely hope you will re-think the decision to remove it.

    Could you be more specific about this "improper behavior" and "damage"? Because, I never had any problems with it up until now. So you can imagine that it's frustrating to have a major piece of functionality removed, with no real explanation, when it seems like there was nothing wrong with it to begin with.

    I know that I need to be careful to un-suspend and shut down the virtual machine before booting with Boot Camp. I have a suspicion that not doing this might cause the damage to the Boot Camp install that you mention, and that you decided to remove the functionality altogether because people might forget to shut down the virtual machine before booting with Boot Camp. Is that correct? If that's the case, then I would doubly urge you to bring back the functionality. Perhaps some dire warnings could be given when suspending the Boot Camp machine, but I don't need to be protected from myself by completely preventing me from doing what I want if it's possible. I can remember not to leave the house with no pants on, not to stick knives in my eyes or put my tongue in the electrical outlet, and not to start Boot Camp without shutting down the Parallels virtual machine first :)

    Looking forward to your answer, thanks...
     
  4. beaumoj

    beaumoj Bit poster

    Messages:
    3
    I agree. Being able to suspend a boot camp VM is the best of all worlds. It was working, it didn't damage my system. Do you plan to bring it back? Thanks.
     
  5. STim

    STim Bit poster

    Messages:
    942
    samguy, beaumoj,

    Well... The danger of damaging the BC partition indeed relates to booting natively after VM is suspended. While Windows is running, it always keeps parts of disk changes in memory. If you suspend, they are still in memory saved as "suspended" state and not synced to disk. Thus, booting natively after that will mean inconsistent filesystem and the need to run checkdisk at best, or some nasty things like BSODs and lost data at worst.

    On the other hand, I agree that we should leave the possibility to suspend BC VM for those who perfectly know what they are doing and what the possible consequences are. I think we will implement it somehow by the nearest update.
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2008
  6. gfarrar

    gfarrar Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    It would be much appreciated to have the suspend option back. It would make parallels the clear leader in Boot Camp integration compared to VMware etc. If some conditions are required that is fine (i.e. shutdown the VM before booting into Bootcamp... maybe you could even have the unset the boot bit when the VM was suspended so that it wouldn't show as a bootable disk?) and would be much better than not having the option at all.

    thanks a lot.
    -g
     
  7. MakcyD

    MakcyD Member

    Messages:
    56
    We will put the request forward to our developers team and they will consider technical possibility to implement the feature.
     
  8. beej

    beej Junior Member

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    12
    to be fair, VMware intentionally disabled suspending Boot Camp virtual machines for the same reason Parallels did. you can re-enable it, but they don't encourage it.

    marc
     

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